The Vampire Diaries Speculation: Grayson Gilbert Is the Augustine Vampire

We now know that The Vampire Diaries’ Augustine Society has not one, but many vampires within their power — but there seems to be one that earns the title The Augustine Vampire. Here are three reasons why we think Grayson Gilbert, aka Elena’s allegedly dead father, is the lucky (read: fearsome) vamp in question.

He was affiliated with the Augustine Society

We know Grayson was involved with the vampire-hating Augustine Society — so much so, that Elena is a bit of a celebrity amongst those in the know on the Whitmore College campus. Just how involved was he? Involved enough to turn into the very thing he abhors in order to help their cause?

Megan had a picture of him on her phone

We had heard little of Grayson Gilbert until Season 5, Episode 2 (“True Lies”) when Elena found a picture of her father on her dead roomie, Megan’s, phone — one that seemed relatively recent. Was the picture of Grayson, the vampire rather than Grayson, the man? It seems possible, especially given that Megan seemed mixed up in the vampire world, stocking vervain-spiked water bottles in her mini-fridge. Just how long ago was that picture taken? We wouldn’t be surprised if it was snapped following Grayson’s “death.”

The suspicious manner of his death

Speaking of Grayson’s death, we’re still not sure what exactly went down the night the Gilbert’s car went into the river. We know Elena’s parents were on their way back from picking Elena up at a party, and we know Stefan was there to pull Elena out of the car — but how did the car really drive off of the bridge? And did Grayson know he would turn vamp if he died that night in the river?

His connection to our heroes

Grayson makes a particularly awesome candidate for villain in that he is emotionally connected to two of our heroes — Elena and Jeremy, of course. For a show almost 100 episodes in, narrative freshness can be hard to come by. But bringing Grayson back from the dead will strike an emotional chord we haven’t yet explored.

The title of Episode 10

Season 5, Episode 10 is titled “Fifty Shades of Grayson,” which implies the Gilbert patriarch will play a large role in the episode. That could mean we will learn more about Gilbert’s influence on a younger Elena and Jeremy when he was still alive, but we doubt it. We think the episode will explore a vampire Grayson Gilbert, and how his continued existence will affect the children he left behind. The synopsis for the episode tells us: “Elena is horrified by Dr. Wes’ confessions about the dark history of Whitmore College.” Does her horror come from her father’s own connection to this brutal history?

Do you think Grayson will be the next Augustine vampire? Sound off in the comments below!

Catch the next episode of The Vampire Diaries on Thursday, December 5 at 8 p.m. ET on the CW, followed by an all-new episode of Reign.